Bangladesh rarely registers in the minds of most Americans, but US policymakers would be well advised to devote some urgent attention. As things stand, general elections scheduled for Sunday look virtually guaranteed to leave a trail of bitter division, violence and chaos. That’s a surefire recipe for disaster—in the world’s third most populous Muslim-majority nation.
Born of civil war in 1971, Bangladesh’s early history was plagued by cycles of political violence and heavy...
Beijing’s recent efforts at improving strategic ties with Delhi may soon experience a hiccup. In an attempt to strengthen Dhaka’s military might, China has agreed to sell submarines to Bangladesh’s Navy sometime. Last month, the two countries sealed a $203 million deal that offers Bangladesh two Ming Class submarines. The move was scorned by India which could not help hide its dismay at the rising tide of Sino-Bangladeshi defense cooperation. Indeed a senior official recently took Beijing to task questioning the “necessity” of pact with Bangladesh. Delhi’s main concern is that these submarines may intrude into Indian waters. These events seem to raise alarm in India as the Indian Navy now plans to boost its presence in the Bay of Bengal...
Bangladesh, the eighth most populated country in the world, is seething with political factionalism and constitutional confusions. Let me first note, however, that, despite ceaseless political turmoil, Bangladesh has secured significant economic growth since its independence in 1971 from Pakistan. The people of Bangladesh are entrepreneurial by temperament. They thrive as merchants, traders, and retailers. Bangladeshi immigrants control the Indian food business in the United Kingdom. Be not surprised to find a Bangladeshi owner behind almost every “Indian restaurant” in London. With copious initiative, Bangladeshis are taking over the Indian food and other retail businesses in New York City. In Kansas, a Bangladeshi immigrant has opened the first Malays...
December 16 is a significant day in the history of two nations — Pakistan and Bangladesh. It was on this date, 42 years ago, that the eastern province of Pakistan broke away to form an independent country called Bangladesh. Bangladesh, which held almost a quarter of the land of which Pakistan was made of, was also home to the majority of the population, as an estimated 53 per cent of the total populace resided within its borders.
Following the split, which saw the people in the eastern province achie...
Despite economic progress and considerable success in the improvement of a range of social indicators, consolidation of democracy in Bangladesh has remained quite elusive.
This week, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) announced that it would not participate in the forthcoming national elections, thereby creating a potential political deadlock. This decision to boycott the polls has come in the wake of a series of violent clashes between the BNP and the Awami League (AL) supporters, strikes and violent demonstrations. Against this backdrop, it is difficult, at this stage, to tell if this announcement was mere political grandstanding or not. Unfortunately, regardless of whether or no...
AFTER a decade of negotiation between the US and Bangladesh, TIFA has recently received a new name — Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement (Ticfa). Only in four cases the name TIFA varied and became Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum (TICF), Trade and Investment Development Cooperation Agreement (TIDCA), Framework Agreement for Trade, Economic, Investment, Technical Cooperation (FATEITC). Whatever the term is, these are the precursors for the US to have complete bilateral trade and investment (BTI) agreements with its strategic allies.
